Uptake of cervical screening and acceptability of HPV self-sampling in Irish Traveller women

Abstract Introduction Irish Travellers are a minority ethnic group. The 2010 All-Ireland Traveller Health Study noted the life expectancy of Traveller women was 11 years shorter than women in the general population. Coverage of the CervicalCheck, the Irish cervical screening programme, is 78.7% overall, however, there is no recently published data on the attendance of Traveller women. This study sought to determine participation by eligible Traveller women in CervicalCheck and the acceptability of HPV self-sampling. Methodology A face-to-face cross-sectional survey, adapted from the National Cancer Control Programme’s 2022 National Survey on Cancer Awareness, was disseminated to Irish Travellers via Primary Health Care Travellers Project peer researchers, following ethical approval, May to December 2023. Results 451 Travellers participated; 286 (63.4%) were female. Of these, 178 (62.2%) were in the eligible age group for cervical screening. 134 (75.3%) advised they had received an invitation to screening; 121 (68% of all eligible; 90% of all receiving an invitation) advised they had attended at least once (regular attenders 88 (49.4%); 27 (15.2%) irregular attenders). Of all responders in the screening eligible age group, 36 (20.2%) reported HPV self-sampling as acceptable; 18 (50%) of these were non or irregular attenders at screening. Similar proportions of 25-45 year-olds (20.4%) and 46-65 year-olds (20%) reported HPV self-sampling as acceptable. Conclusions Irish Traveller women face barriers to accessing mainstream health services. Uptake of cervical screening overall is lower compared to the general population in this study; one issue may be unreliable postal service to Travellers and non-receipt of invitations. While the overall acceptability of HPV self-sampling was low at 20.2%, half of those who would self-sample did not attend or attended irregularly. HPV self-sampling has the potential to improve cervical screening rates among Traveller women. Key messages • Irish Traveller women’s uptake of cervical screening is lower than general population. • HPV self sampling has potential to improve cervical screening rates in Travellers.